Eva Toby, founder of Xtended Threads, is a clothing retailer catering to tall women in the athleisure market. With a background in social work and a passion for fashion, Toby’s focus on comfort and style offers versatile pieces for gym-to-brunch wear.
Toby spoke to rolling out and explained why she advises entrepreneurs to explore marketing channels beyond social media for a personal connection with customers.
What made you want to get into the fashion business?
As far as jumping into the fashion industry, I didn’t start there. My background is in social work. I have a master’s in social work and a psychology degree. I did that for over a decade, working in foster care with children and families. At the same time, I also worked as a presenter on the side for the auto show, so I would travel. They also had trouble finding clothes for me.
I remember this quote, “In the absence of resources, creativity is born.” The idea was dropped in 2007, but it just remained idle until last year. They were willing to spend thousands, but nothing would fit me. I’m 6-foot-2 by the way, and it was just always difficult to find clothing and then God just laid it on my heart.
What makes Xtended Threads stand out from other athleisure brands?
The athleisure market is especially popular post-COVID. Everybody’s about that fitness life and everyone wants to wear athleisure for regular casual wear. However, there was still a gap. As far as going into some of the popular athleisure brands like Lululemon, it still came up short. I like to be comfortable but chic, which is what you’ll see on my website. We pair a sweatshirt with a funky leather skirt because it gives you the idea that you can take it from Pilates and yoga to brunch or grab coffee with the girls quickly. That was the whole concept of athleisure. We cater to every body type.
From when you first started to now, how have you grown as an entrepreneur?
First and foremost, I went back to get an MBA because I had no business background. I’m Nigerian-American and my parents are all about education and I like learning. Everything was psychology, social work and clinical therapy. I didn’t take a marketing class, so my ambitious self went, took the test and got into the business school. It was amazing because I learned so much from the marketing, financing, advertising and management side of things.
What tips can you give first-time entrepreneurs about marketing?
Don’t limit yourself to just social media. Social media can indeed do everything, but there are so many other ways like email marketing and text messaging. I was just talking to a friend about this because right now we have an email platform. She was like, “You should incorporate SMS. I like getting text messages from a certain brand.” And she’s faithful to it. People kind of like that personal connection. You can start a newsletter or start a blog. My mindset is that if Instagram went down today or Facebook went down today, how else can my people connect with me? You have to have other avenues for your customers to connect with you.
